Charlie Rich, 62, 'Silver Fox,' Country Singer and Songwriter

By STEPHEN HOLDEN

Published: July 26, 1995

Charlie Rich, the country singer known as the Silver Fox, who had several major hits in the 1970's, died yesterday at a motel in Hammond, La., where he and his wife had stopped for the night on their way to Florida. He was 62.

The cause of death was a blood clot in his lung, said the coroner, Vincent Cefalu.

A gifted pianist, singer and songwriter whose early recordings were pronouncedly influenced by jazz and blues, Mr. Rich was an originator of the "countrypolitan" sound, the lushly orchestrated Nashville style that dominated country music from the late 1960's to the mid-70's.

Mr. Rich, called the Silver Fox because of his prematurely gray hair, reached his commercial peak in 1973 with two million-selling singles, "Behind Closed Doors" and "The Most Beautiful Girl," both of which featured his smooth, slightly world-weary baritone.

They were the two most popular of Mr. Rich's nine No. 1 country hits in the 70's. The others were "There Won't Be Anymore," "A Very Special Love Song," "I Don't See Me in Your Eyes Anymore," "I Love My Friend," "She Called Me Baby," "Rollin' With the Flow" and "On My Knees" (a duet with Janie Fricke).

Mr. Rich was born in Colt, Ark., and studied music at the University of Arkansas. While in the Air Force, stationed in Oklahoma, he formed his first group, the Velvetones, whose sound was modeled on Stan Kenton's. In the late 1950's, he was a session pianist for Sun Records, and in 1959 he had his first hit, "Lonely Weekends," which closely paralleled Elvis Presley's style.

In the 1960's, he experimented with styles that ranged from boogie-woogie to novelties to honky-tonk. In 1968, he signed with Epic Records and teamed with the producer Billy Sherrill to create the winning countrypolitan formula. After the sound fell out of fashion in the late 1970's, Mr. Rich recorded for several labels. He wrote the music for the films "Benji" (1974) and "For the Love of Benji" (1977), and played a small role in the 1978 Clint Eastwood film "Every Which Way but Loose."

He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Margaret; two sons, Allan and Jack, and two daughters, Rene and Laurie.